What makes the American Civil War so fascinating even for non americans like myself? It is that free man choose to fight for what they believed was right. Greetings from Germany.
We Are Men, Free According To God And Yes, Men. Germany Has Suffered It's Own Path, Right Or Wrong, To Freedom. The United States Now Stands With You, As We Do Our Southern Brothers......
Non american germans fought in the civil war. You should look up the mention by Bruce Catton in his book "A stillness at Appomattox". The chapter titled "White Iron on the Anvil" discusses Sebastian Muller and his experience and sacrifice on page 217-218 and compares it to other groups. It is one of the most insightful and moving points Catton made in the book.
I was there, just out of the frame to the right, doing some work on our gun in the artillery park, and waiting for the chance to tow it onto the field. It was amazing watching all these men march past.
I was there also, our guys at that reenactment were portraying the 5th Louisiana lnfantry Regiment. I was in the15th Texas lnfantry Regiment, it being the actual unit my great grandfather fought under. He was in Company F., out of Henderson County. When l first started reenacting, l was with the 12th Texas lnfantry Regiment, which l best recollect was from one of the counties that are on the Red River between Paris & Texarkana. Just can't remember, that 22 years back. DEO VINDICE-GOD SAVE THE SOUTH
Myself and CSA unit were at the 135th in 1998, it was excellent, we vacationed out there 1 1/2 weeks before the event, one of the guys uncles had a farm north of Gettysburg, we had troops all over his property, tents, shelter half's etc. and better yet, he had an inground pool At big events it's always neat to see the Sutler tents city !
Not true. They Confederate army was as well trained as federals. They were still a Professional fighting force.Its not until 1864 you see the army throwing in recruits with little training on both sides.
Hello I am French and I would like to one day be able to see such an event I am in the south of france squarely down my country at the edge of the Mediterranean and I have the Southern heart has 100%
@xXHearTBuRN14 Usually people choose to die if they either run out of ammo, or if there are a lot of guns going off in their direction, or if it's the turning point of the battle. It's assumed that the enactors will be "honest" and die when they are "shot"
I always love it when someone tells another where his accutrements "should" be. When you are on the march you are going to find a comfortable position and that is where they will be placed and stay. This comes from someone who has been reenacting for 20 years, so I think that I can throw my opinions in the ring.
@Sto20784Once you have the gear hat you need, look up the certain company that you want to be in and see if there is a reenacting group for it. If there is a reenacting group contact them and ask if and how you can join.
by the end of the weekend I learned to hate that danged hill we had to march up and down. As for being over fed we was finally livin off of the fat of that northern land.
Makes you wonder what would have happened if the European nations did react on the plead or call of the Confederate states and the union , you would have had one side backed by the French and Spanish and the other with the Brits or even Germans and Austria who knows. Maybe things would have turned out very different and we would have had the first world war on American soil. I like to think about alternative history. What i do hate is that ignorant people seem to think all Southern people where slave owners fighting to keep slaves , like more then half of the Confederate army where just farmers etc trying to protect their home and like Lee fighting for their state , family , home. Don't get why things like statue's of general Lee have to be removed..The man himself said to Davis at the start of the conflict he hated slavery but he could not bare to pick up arms against Virginia. The man was just like Rommel during ww2, just fighting a war as a soldier loving his home , hating what the idea's of the man in charge was. ( Just my opinion as a European )
I just do reenactments in my nic of the woods, so usually there are 70ish union rifles and 140 confeds, hot damn that is a lot of people at Gettysburg! That looks like so much fun! (Huzzah for the 100th Penn and the 7th Wisconsin, our units are tiny so we fall in together to form the aptly named 107th Wisconsylvainia
LOL I AM A BLACK REANACTOR AND SOMETIME I WISH I HAD MY OWN ALL BLACK REGIMENT OF 1000+ UNION TROOPS IN ALL NAVY BLUE UNIFORMS AND SHOW WHAT WE CAN REALLY DO OUT THERE !!!!!!!KUZ IF THIS IS WHAT THESE SORRY REBEL FOOLS LOOKED LIKE I SEE WHY YOU ALL GOT SMASHED ON !!!!!!!!! LOL HAHHAH RIP GEN.JOSHUA CHAMBERLIN !! RIP COL. ROBERT GOULDSHAW
BIG AVE God damn it every one has all role to play in the civil war. I’m Mexican American fuck am suppose to be in a re-enactment. Not in Mexico my ancestors fought for Texas against the Mexican army during the Texas Revolution.
Great video, but lets be honest: Look at all those beer-bellies, sun shades (!!), clean uniforms, and the huge number of men with gray hair! Remember, the average Civil War soldier was in his early 20s, lean and thin, and never had his uniform dry-cleaned.....
@MrDaeth666 Hits are usually at the discretion of the participants, though sometimes officers, NCOs, or event organizers will assign hits. One common complaint is the distances and hits aren't realistic, but if too many take early hits, the scenario won't last for long. It's common for both sides to complain the other side wasn't taking enough hits, but some participants are reluctant to drive several hours just to fall down ten minutes into the event, lie on the ground, then drive home.
Went to this Re-enactment last year (2011) and loved Gettysburg town wise but was kind of upset with the actual turnout of re-enactors. I have been to a ton of them and Ohio's little town of Zoar actually put on a better reenactment than they did at Gettysburg; battle wise. (Not Sutler). I traveled 8 hours thinking it would be this massive turnout but boy was I surprised... I was told it was because I went on an off year? I am returning for the 150th and I hope it's more like this.
The fact this probably only represents may be two brigades which would be about 3000 men give or take. The army of Northern Virginia had 75,000 men during the battle of Gettysburg, and the army of the Potomac had 90,000. That’s a lot of men…
@amazingmazie you're right, the 44th Georgia Infantry is based in New Jersey. Do a Google search on "44th Georgia infantry company C NJ" and you'll see the website.
I have ancestors both on the CSA and the Union, it makes me proud that their are those who wish to make history alive and well, for lest we forget. BTW the Garry Owens tune was played on the march starting 1:00, which BTW Col. Custer adopted for the 7th Cavalry during the Indians wars and still is today.
A for effort but I seriously doubt that Longstreet's men would have been playing the fife and drums on this march as this would have telegraphed their position and intent to the Union army. From the historical photos, the average soldier's weight appeared to be at least 80 lbs less than most of the soldiers in this video. I would also suggest that firing the first shots upon the flag of the United States at Ft. Sumter would certainly put the blame squarely upon the South for starting the war.
@easycure007 No, not necessarily. People will often join a Company with ties to their ancestry. I joined a Confederate Company because I had friends already involved. I have 3 ancestors that fought for Pennsylvania Regiements. I discovered that is enlightening to learn something from another point(s) of view.
in the actual war yes that was the case. but today for reenactors it doesnt matter. i know of a few confederate units in the northeast and several union units in the south. it all depends on which side you want to portray
well in all honesty brother. If only Lincoln stayed alive Johnson wouldn't have taken over and truly disrespected us with "re-construction" at least Lincoln looked upon us like brothers. but yeah DEo Vindice
@hollywoodwerewolf Yea I thought about that after Iwrote the comment I am starting to look up reenacting groups myself but can't find any Confederate groups that are close to Pennsylvania.
No plastic pellets. Generally it's the choice of the reenactor, who may drop if he's out of "ammo" or tired, although it CAN be a planned event by random selection.
@amazingmazie the only Confederate group that I know of is on Long Island. 57th Virginia Co. B 'Franklin County Sharpshooters'. That could be too far...
Worst part about mainstream Confederate reenactors, is that they all play the "Reb". Even they don't realize, the confederate army was still an ARMY, a well trained and disciplined fighting force. People take what they see on movies and apply it to poor impressions. My biggest pet peeve is when guys in one company have 10 different uniforms, and hillbilly hats. The rebel forces still had a uniform. It varied between regiments, even between some companies, but the forces were still uniformed.
The officer with his accoutrements so high up...did his men play a dirty trick on him, cut a length from all the straps then stitch it back together? It looks very difficult to get at the haversack or the all important canteen
I’ve watched these two Gettysburg re-enactment videos* hundreds of times! I look at these young boys/guys and wonder how inflated their egos are to be playing music which adults are marching to behind them!!!!!! (Have you ever given any thought to this?) Most-certainly, they have survived some stiff competition from their peers to find themselves where they are! LOL! (Typically, only the star athletes could/would receive any kind of recognition/stature.)
@number1gamer17 not necessarily so. sometimes you play be scenario, or when you are too hot/tired, out of rounds (which are simply tubes of black powder). When needed, you can actually "resurrect" as the army passes/retreats back over your dead little body!
I really regret not going to this one. The unit I was part of initially planned on going but then decided not to. I even took those days off from work months ahead of time. :( I was with the 41st VA. I want to go back into reenacting but my job requires me to work on weekends. Plus, the captain of our unit was way too pushy when it came to getting all of your equipment at once.
@rebelscott1865 The bugger was that we had to march up the hill after the battle. It would have been much nicer if we marched up it before the battle so we could go downhill when we were tired after the battle.
Hence, They matched. In the ANV, there are not NEARLY enough Richmond Depot uniforms, and too many guys can't differentiate between federal and CS leathers.
@jimjamyou2be I think we got there about 3 p.m. on Wed. Got our camp going, and pulled out the next Monday morning. It was a real mess how the organizers set up the CS artillery on a slope with wet grass rather than on the flat field by the barn. I spent more time waiting in the artillery park, or sitting in my truck towing the guns back and forth than anywhere else. I saw 3 guns get loose and careen down the hill and across the road. Scary as hell.
@amazingmazie you can try to broaden your search in the Pennsylvania area perhaps there's a Union group that also does Confederate, although that could make the gear buying more expensive....
We climbed that hill over and over again, my unit is with the Georgia Volunteer Battalion. The battalion commander at the 2 min. mark has a good officer impression. From what i've read, it was common for soldiers to wear their accoutrements high, so they wouldn't hang low and get caught in brush, or ripping off. I wear mine the same. Hope to see bigger numbers at the 150th anniversary, the GVB will be there.
